Every so often comes along a grappler that makes us Brazilian Jiu Jitsu nerds take a step back and say ‘woah!’ Taking every preconceived notion that we have in mind, these grapplers break down the barriers in our mind and reconstruct them in a much different location.

Ever since Royce Gracie displayed his skills to the combat sporting world way back at UFC 1, the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been constantly evolving. Never settling, it seems as if the next big thing or the newest move is created every minute that passes.

However, while some of those trends and grapplers are just a flash in the pan, some of them are the real deal. With that said, I’d like to introduce you to the man that they call ‘Buchecha’, Marcus Almeida. A hulking figure, this young man is taking the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as we know it, and is flipping the script on everything we’ve been taught.

The Total Package: Size, Speed, Skill

As I previously stated, Almeida is a hulking figure. Competing at 100kg—220 lbs—Almeida competes with some of the biggest, most physically imposing men on the planet earth! Not only does he get on the mats and mixes it up with them, nine-times-out-of-ten, he beats them!

In MMA, they often refer to the heavyweight champion as the “meanest man on the planet,” and you can make an argument that Buchecha is the meanest man on the BJJ planet.

Despite his hefty weight, Almeida can move so fluidly and smoothly it’s as if you are watching the little guys go at it. His skills are immense, and are not to be understated. There was one time where I was watching a match of his, and thought the video had been sped up because Marcus was flying around the mat with too much ease!

Making A Name For Himself

It’s one thing to have the skills, but it’s another to go out onto the mat and show you’re worthy of all the praise. Almeida has gone on the mat with some big guns including Andre Galvao and Roger Gracie amongst others.

Between his showings with those grappling greats, Almeida has a mantel worthy of Royce Gracie himself!

Marcus Almeida introduced himself the mainstream Brazilian Jiu Jitsu crowd when he won double gold at the World Championships in 2012. With such an impressive feat under his belt, it’s not too farfetched to believe that Marcus Almeida is poised for a big run here in the near future.